Saturday Night Live had saved itself from cancellation and entered a new era of recurring characters by the time Season 23 rolled around, but its 1997–1998 run still brought its share of turmoil.
In the latest installment of the Saturday Night Network’s Everything You NEED to Know About Saturday Night Live series, hosts Jon Schneider and James Stephens dive into one of SNL’s most tumultuous seasons.
Onscreen, the most notable shake-up came midseason, when “Weekend Update” anchor Norm Macdonald was removed from his post by NBC executive Don Ohlmeyer. It’s one of the most infamous moments in SNL lore, with most accounts blaming Macdonald’s frequent jokes about O.J. Simpson—Ohlmeyer’s close friend—as the cause. But the story has layers, and the SNN team worked to unpack all sides of it.
“Number one most important was we really wanted to get the story of why Norm Macdonald got fired,” Schneider says. “It’s very easy to say that he got fired for making OJ jokes, which isn’t exactly wrong, but it’s not the full story.”
The season is also remembered for former cast member Chris Farley hosting the show for the first and only time—less than two months before his untimely death.
The show’s cast, crew, and fans were still reeling from Farley’s passing when more devastating news arrived: another former cast member, Phil Hartman, had been murdered.
With two of SNL’s heaviest losses occurring in the span of one season, the SNN team sought to honor both stories from the show’s perspective—without letting the tragedies overshadow the rest of the narrative.
“How much do we dive into the deaths of Chris Farley and Phil Hartman?” Schneider recalls considering. “Because it’s so emotional. I’m such a big fan of Phil Hartman, so for me, I really didn’t know what to do with it. There’s documentaries and true crime stuff, so many things, that are made about Phil’s death. I didn’t really feel like this was the place for that, but we also had to still show people who don’t know who these people are.”
In fact, celebrating Hartman’s legacy was one of Schneider’s “major goals” for the Everything You NEED to Know series. “I wanted to show why I think Phil Hartman is the greatest cast member of all time,” he says. “Had he still been alive today, I think he would totally get that recognition. But with him not being around for the last 25 years, he’s sort of lost to time in a way.”
In the face of the twin tragedies, many otherwise memorable moments from the season have faded into footnotes. But the new SNN episode gives them their due: Norm Macdonald’s exit led to the awkward arrival of new Update anchor Colin Quinn, but also marked the end of NBC’s heavy-handed interference in Lorne Michaels’ show. Behind the scenes, SNL quietly hired writer Tina Fey, who would go on to reshape the show for years, and Rudy Giuliani delivered one of the season’s best hosting gigs.
And outside 30 Rock, one of SNL’s most enduring political sagas was just getting started, as Bill Clinton’s affair with a White House intern was revealed, giving the show new material and setting up a major storyline for the following season. “SNL thrives on those moments,” Schneider says. “Especially in an era where they still have really good political writing. Once that news sort of breaks toward the end of the season, there’s a lot of hope for what’s to come.”
All this and more in the Saturday Night Network’s Story of Season 23, available at the top of this post. Past episodes of Everything You NEED to Know About Saturday Night Live are available on the SNN’s YouTube channel.
